Solving Life's Problems Using Our 3-Part Nature

In this post I will tie together the 3 aspects of our human nature, namely the spiritual, intellectual and physical. I’ve discussed our spiritual nature (inner voice) in previous posts. I’ve also discussed our intellect and stated that it houses our “free will”. If I had to assign roles to these natures, I would say the spiritual performs the role as “Mentor” and our intellect as “Coach”.

In the past, I likened our spiritual nature to a GPS, which unerringly provides us directions towards our destination. It doesn't matter where we’re located because it knows how to guide us safely to our chosen destination. And as you know a mentor is defined as a trusted counselor or guide. It's our spiritual nature or mentor that often guides us to a solution to those one-of-a-kind problems that are unsolvable by intellect alone.

My goal in this post is to provide a simplistic overview of how the different aspects of our nature interrelate as we experience life's tough times and problem areas. It’s not to tell you how to go about your normal day-to-day activities, which are usually placed on cruise control anyway. By that I mean, upon waking each day we normally use the restroom, cleanup, get something to eat and then complete our daily activities. At the end of each day we do what is necessary to prepare for the next, and so on. Our intellect handles this aspect of our life quite well.

When life’s tough times and problem areas occur, our intellect (consisting of our mind, will, desires and emotions) chooses a desired outcome. It then allows our GPS to issue directions and guide us towards our desired destination.

Additionally, our intellect (Coach) sends instructions to our physical body (which assumes the role of “Player”) that allow us to interact with other bodies and the material world. Our bodies do nothing more than wait on the sidelines for the coach to send in a play (“Gimme the ball coach, Gimme the ball”). It then uses its physical attributes to carry out that play to the best of its ability.

Our physical body is a complex, finite organism that has no volition of its own. It returns to the earth when our intellectual nature/life force no longer occupies it. It does however have the necessary intelligence to monitor its own operation and sends signals back to the coach when it detects an internal malfunction or breakdown. A simple analogy is that our body is like an automobile that’s useless until occupied by a driver (intellect/life force).

The take away from this post is that in order to successfully experience the tough times and problem areas of life in a manner that keeps us calm, confident, creative and connected to our guide, we must understand how to employ an integrated approach that involves our 3-part nature. This is accomplished when the “Mentor” provides guidance to the “Coach” who directs the activities of the “Player”.

I will provide more examples of how this works in my next post. Until then, here's hoping that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless!

Intellect and Awareness - The Dynamic Duo

In my last post entitled “Be aware of your instincts”; I discussed “The Intellect” and how it interacts with our three-part nature. I stated that while it is a valuable tool in solving empirical problems, it is not very useful alone in solving the one-of-a-kind personal problems we find in life. I have already shared with you a few of my successes; now let me share with you an area of personal setback. It's not an area I'm proud of but I share it in order help you to not make the same mistakes I made and to say that it's not important what happens to us in life. It's how we respond to what happens to us that really counts.

As a matter of fact, if you are like me, the more I use my intellect alone to solve personal problems it seems the more personal problems I get. For example, early in life as a result of my engineering background and problem solving ability, I concluded that I should easily be able to find a mate and life's partner. I thought if she was attractive, articulate and intelligent then we would make a good couple. Sound a bit chauvinistic, don't I? Boy, was I wrong!

It took me 3 divorces to figure out that there is much more to finding a mate than their looks, conversation and intelligence. I found out that I should be aware of their home life, interaction with their parents, past history, emotional stability and many other things. I also needed to be aware of how we connected and interacted together on a personal basis. However, I only saw my potential mates as I wanted to see them and not for whom they really were.

In seeing them that way, my mind created a person that never really existed. This wasn't their problem; it was mine. I gave them attributes they never really had and assumed their life’s goals were the same as mine. However, I did determine an interconnection between our intellect and awareness.

Wikipedia states that Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, or sensory patterns. Had I been more aware and in the moment, I would have paid more attention to those areas where I sensed incompatibilities in my relationships. Understand that I am not blaming anyone. I am just stating I should have examined my feelings more closely at those times. However, since I had always created my relationships in the same manner, it wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I was ready to try something new.

As a result I spent a number of years using my intellect to learn about personal and interpersonal relationships and the secrets to their success. After applying these principles I was finally able to sustain a good relationship for more than a few years.  My point is that without this proper combination of intellect and awareness, I would’ve been doomed to failure.

Now relationships aren't the only areas of life where we continually butt our heads against the wall. Other areas may include health, finances, purpose for living, etc. and we will discuss these in future posts. Until then here's hoping that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless!

God, Country, Corps

In the Marines we had a motto: “God, Country, Corps” that helped us set priorities and make decisions about our next course of action. Believe it or not, at times we were forced to respond to situations that were not covered in our operations or tactical manuals.  However, the decisions we made were normally made in concert with that simple motto.

First of all our decisions had to keep us connected to our relationship with God. Secondly they had to be beneficial to the security of our country. Finally they had to uphold the honor and tradition of the Corps. After those 3 conditions were met almost anything was possible. However, it was mandatory to make decisions in the order stated.

If you noticed, the word I (or me) occurs nowhere in that decision-making process. I have determined that if we make decisions in a manner that keeps us connected with God (or our moral code), our country and our organizations then our needs will automatically be met.

A dilemma immediately arises because our 1st priority (the voice of God /our moral code) is very difficult to discern in tumultuous times. The reason is that it is a quiet voice and is easily drowned out by the circumstances and situations surrounding us. The importance of this voice is best described in the following poem:

“The Voice

There is a voice inside of you

That whispers all day long,

"I feel this is right for me,

I know that this is wrong."

No teacher, preacher, parent, friend

Or wise man can decide

What's right for you--just listen to

The voice that speaks inside.”

― Shel Silverstein

The next step in this decision-making process is to make sure that our decision is beneficial to society as a whole. Here again we must understand that the decision is not about what's best for me (or the organization) but about what's best for society. It's important to note that I am not saying we cannot profit from our decisions, I'm just saying that the priority for making this profit should not be higher than those priorities already established.

Finally, the 3rd priority determines: “If my decisions are beneficial to the organization.” This is the last priority because organizations are man-made. However if we have created our organization by adhering to the 1st 2 priorities then our decision must support the goals of the organization.

If you have paid attention to the news lately you will notice that individuals seem to be making decisions by reversing these priorities.  First, the organization is their number 1 priority. Secondly, country is their 2nd priority and finally, the voice of God (or their moral code) is there last priority.

This last comment has been borne out by the political bickering of our lawmakers on a local, state and national basis as well as the decision-makers involved in the scandals occurring at various educational institutions around the country.

We can get our country moving in the right direction again by just focusing on: God, Country and Corps (organization). However each one of us must do our part in daily life to make this a reality. If you need help in getting your organization moving in the right direction please feel free to contact me.

Tunnel Vision

Do you know that you will never find the solution to a problem on the same level that the problem exists? This statement is true whether we are talking about our business life, our personal life or just life in general. Have you ever noticed when you are in a crowd of angry people with a problem that a viable solution is never found? They may come up with a plan of action but rarely will that plan of action result in a viable solution to the problem.

Have you ever noticed when you are angry with another person or your group is angry at another group that all you do is focus on blocking the moves of the other person or group? When this happens you become more determined to make sure that the other person or group does not win rather than finding a solution to the problem. The result is a type of tunnel vision that keeps you narrowly focused on the problem rather than allowing you to have the full 360° field of vision necessary to find a solution.

And guess what? When this happens, the other person or group becomes more determined to make sure that you or your group does not win as well as block all of your moves. This results in the escalation of a cycle of conflict which often involves strong emotions. It is often these emotions that act as a roadblock to our finding a proper solution to the problem. It is at this point that we normally start casting blame on the other person or group involved and as we all know problem solving is not about casting blame but more about accepting responsibility.

In addition to applying proper problem-solving techniques, the first step we need to take is to find a serene place or activity which will allow us to contemplate the problem in peace. In order to solve the problem effectively it is necessary that we separate ourselves from the emotions involved. It is in this state of mind where we will be able to identify the problem as well as accept responsibility for any part that we may have had in the creation of the problem. We will also be able to remove the blinders which caused us to have tunnel vision and cast blame so that we may now see from the full 360° field of possible solutions.

I have often been asked what one has to do in order to find the serene place or the activity discussed in the previous paragraph. The answer is as varied as the number of individuals that ask it. For some it is listening to certain music. For others it is working in the yard and digging with their hands in the earth. For still others is some type of repetitive activity such as walking, running or riding a stationary bike. And for yet others it’s nothing more than sitting in their favorite chair and contemplating their navel.

Now here comes the interesting part. Once we have identified potential solutions to the problem, we are going to have to get agreement from the other parties involved for their implementation. And that my friend is a subject for another blog entry. I hope this helps!